Entering the Chinese entertainment industry is like entering a deep sea

Chapter 827 The Backlash of the Eighty Million Man

The 2016 Spring Festival Gala, the Year of the Monkey, can be described as a peak performance right from the start.

Even the real-time ratings of the four highly anticipated shows later on—Wang Fei and Karen Mok's "Years" and "Parents' Love," Shen Ma's "Still Paying Back," and Pan Changjiang and Cai Ming's "Online Shopping Adventure"—could not match those of the three shows, "Wild Wolf."

The four-hour Spring Festival Gala passed by in a hurry, and overall it certainly couldn't compare to the Spring Festival Gala for the Year of the Horse, directed by Li Chen.

But it's definitely a cut above Feng Xiaogang's disastrous performance at last year's Spring Festival Gala.

Lü Yitao gave himself a perfect score.

As soon as midnight struck, three major Spring Festival films officially premiered in the midnight slot.

Besides Zhou Xingchi's energetic promotion, the White Bone Demon Gong Li also frequently appeared to tell the story of the White Bone Demon's hardships: she has to spend five or six hours every day spraying white face powder.

Of course, Chow Yun-fat, the God of Gamblers, was not idle either. Along with Andy Lau, Suet To, Nick Cheung, Carman Lee, and other big names, under the supervision of Xiang Huaqiang, they also put in their best efforts.

The highest investment was in "The Monkey King 2", which reportedly had a production cost of 450 million yuan, 50 million yuan more than the first film, "Havoc in Heaven".

With the addition of Gong Li, a subversive villain, an extra 5000 million seems reasonable.

Next up are "The Mermaid" with 300 million and "From Vegas to Macau III" with 250 million, and Stephen Chow is also very nervous.

The box office performance at midnight can roughly predict a film's box office prospects, especially during special midnight periods like the Spring Festival.

Xiao Wang of Huayi was also very nervous; Huayi's stock price couldn't fall any further! Although the market was closed for the Spring Festival, it wouldn't be closed until "The Mermaid" was taken off the screens.

"Zhou Xingchi, that taciturn fellow, may seem like a quiet rascal, but he's actually a ruthless one!" Feng Xiaogang, who was in Sanya, was also awake and chatting with his wife Xu Fan about Zhou Xingchi.

He had originally agreed to star in "CJ7" for Stephen Chow, but Stephen Chow also agreed to star in "A World Without Thieves"! He broke his promise first, and then he even helped him get a role in "Kung Fu Hustle"!
In the end, I actually lost out.

"That's right. Among the so-called five major private producers of 'The Mermaid,' only Huayi Brothers and LeEco were not listed. Putting aside the feud between LeEco and Enlight Media, Zhou Xingchi just wanted to get revenge for that 8000 million yuan debt!"

"But then again, if you were scammed out of 8000 million, you'd be even worse off than Zhou Xingchi! Hehehe." Xu Fan laughed as he spoke.

How could her husband, Feng Xiaogang, be swindled out of 8000 million yuan by the two Wang brothers? Her husband actually demanded 10.5 billion yuan from the Wang brothers.

Feng Xiaogang's face darkened, but surprisingly he did not refute.

Han Sanping couldn't sleep either. Zhou Xingchi had offered China Film Group a 30% share, but he only asked for 10%.

Pre-sales have already exceeded 2 million, and La Peikang probably doesn't know how much he's complaining about him.

Who could have predicted that the domestic market would grow so rapidly in the last two years? Not to mention the 40 billion yuan of "Wanxiang Island", even the 20 billion yuan of "Monster Hunt" is quite astonishing.

Adding to the mix, that scoundrel Li Chen pulled off a ruthless gimmick: "Back in the day, we all owed Stephen Chow a movie ticket."

This makes box office predictions for "The Mermaid" extremely unpredictable; we'll have to wait and see how it fares in terms of reviews after its release.

Early on the first day of the Lunar New Year, Zhou Xingchi hurriedly called Yang Siwei himself.

"Mr. Yang, have the data for the midnight session come out yet?"

Yang Siwei laughed and said, "You're too impatient, Mr. Xing, it's not even seven o'clock yet."

"Hey, how can I not be anxious? Don't laugh at me, but I wasn't this nervous when 'From Beijing with Love' was released."

Yang Siwei was amused by Zhou Xingchi.

"From Beijing with Love" was Zhou Xingchi's first film as a director, but Yang Siwei understood.

The importance of "The Mermaid" is self-evident. Judging from the pre-sales alone, the box office of this film may be equivalent to the total box office of Zhou Xingchi.

Perhaps Zhou Xingchi, who has been making movies all his life, has earned less than the income from just one film, "The Mermaid"!
"Mr. Stephen Chow, congratulations! I only have a rough estimate of the midnight screening box office figures, but currently, it seems that 'The Mermaid's' midnight screening box office is second only to 'Wanxiang Island'!"

With those words, Zhou Xingchi felt at ease.

Second only to "Wanxiang Island", that means it surpasses "Monster Hunt", so two billion should be no problem.

"I understand. Director Li knows about this news too, right?" Zhou Xingchi asked again.

Yang Siwei laughed and said, "My boss has a lot of confidence in you. He hasn't replied to me since I gave him the number."

Zhou Xingchi chuckled dryly, unsure what to say: "Director Li is Director Li after all; I can't compare."

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Wang Zhonglei's children and Wang Zhongjun's son, these three cousins, also went to Yaolai Cinema in Beijing.

The news they brought back, however, did not bring joy to the two brothers, Da Wang and Xiao Wang.

"Uncle, at least eight out of ten people have bought 'The Little Mermaid'."

"Dad, Second Uncle, the scarcity marketing for 'The Mermaid' was spot on. Coupled with that gimmick and Zhou Xingchi's name card, it was really effective. It's possible that Rong Chen's guaranteed 16 billion should be easily achieved!"

Wang Fuye works in investment banking. After taking his younger sister and brother on a tour, he basically got a feel for the place.

In his opinion, his second uncle was too short-sighted; he actually gave away a gem like Zhou Xingchi to his rival for 8000 million.

The media is now speculating about how high "The Mermaid" will reach on its opening day box office.

The 8000 million dollar couple from Huayi Brothers may become a laughing stock in the entire Chinese film industry by the second day of the Lunar New Year.

Wang Zhonglei forced a smile and tried to smooth things over: "Not necessarily, it depends on reputation."

Wang Zhongjun took a deep drag on his cigarette and chuckled self-deprecatingly, "This is the first time there haven't been any of Huayi Brothers' films in the Spring Festival lineup, so I'm still getting used to it."

Wang Zhonglei felt the same way.

If "Mr. Six" hadn't run into trouble, it might have stirred things up now.

He now only hopes that "The Mermaid" will start strong but end weakly, preferably not exceeding 10 billion yuan, and at the very least not exceeding 16 billion yuan.

-

The second day of the Lunar New Year is also the day for Oscar nominees to have a luncheon and take photos.

At 3 a.m., which was noon on the 8th local time in Los Angeles, Li Chen received the numbers from Yang Siwei.

"Boss, The Mermaid's single-day box office is 2.8 million, Ao Ming III is 1.79 million, The White Bone Demon is 1.61 million, and La La Land is 1260 million."

Li Chen glanced at it and immediately understood. It seemed that the postponement of "La La Land" had a minimal impact on the overall market performance of the first year of junior high school, but it wasn't entirely without an impact either.

"Director Li, are the box office results for the first day of the Lunar New Year out? How are they? Is Zhou Xingchi number one?" Chen Kexin, Wang Jiawei, Hui Yinghong, and others arrived at Crystal Wu early.

"That's right, 2.8 million!"

Chen Kexin and Wang Jiawei exchanged a glance, neither of them able to hide the shock in their eyes.

This figure is second only to the 2.85 million yuan opening day revenue of "Vientiane Island".

The biggest difference between "Vientiane Island" and "The Mermaid" is that when watching a monster blockbuster like "Vientiane Island", the first choice for the audience is the IMAX or 3D version, but for "The Mermaid", most people will probably choose 2D.

The two films had a difference of only 500 million in opening day box office, which means that "The Mermaid" had more viewers than "Wanxiang Island"!
"Zhou Xingchi is Zhou Xingchi after all," Wong Kar-wai exclaimed sincerely.

Zhou Xingchi was also extremely excited at this moment. In addition to getting a good scolding, the most important thing was the considerable box office revenue! To paraphrase the feelings expressed by Zhou Xingchi through the words of Zhang Yuqi and Deng Chao, the artists who left Huayi in "The Mermaid".

Actress Zhang Yuqi, representing Stephen Chow, said: "Money, making money, do you want money?"

Former Huayi artist Deng Chao, representing Huayi who embezzled 8000 million from Zhou Xingchi, said: "I want the money, but you have to have a bottom line. You can't go against your conscience."

When Li Chen saw Deng Chao's lines in his previous life, he couldn't help but laugh. Zhou Xingchi is just too damn talented.

It would be a miracle if this dialogue wasn't directed at the two kings. (This is purely the author's personal interpretation and does not include any film reviews.)

China Film Report
"First Day Report of the 2016 Spring Festival Box Office Battle: Stephen Chow's 'The Mermaid' Raises 280 Million Yuan, Huayi Brothers Suffers a Backlash from the '80 Million Yuan Man'!"

"The dust has settled after the first day of the Spring Festival box office battle, and 'The Mermaid,' co-produced by Rongchen Pictures and six other major studios, has taken the top spot with a box office of 2.8 million yuan!"

"Second only to Li Chen's 'Wanxiang Island' which set a record of 2.85 million yuan on its opening day. In this opening day battle, which can be described as the 'most brutal Spring Festival film season in Chinese film history,' a dramatic scene unfolded between capital competition and audience choices."

"With an investment cost of 450 million yuan, 'The Monkey King 2' topped the Spring Festival box office but only grossed 1.61 million yuan on its opening day."

"With an investment cost of 250 million yuan and a Douban score of 5.4, 'From Vegas to Macau III', which ranked last among the three Spring Festival films, grossed 1.79 million yuan, second only to 'The Mermaid'!"

"Most notably, The Mermaid recouped the 8000 million yuan in dividends that Huayi Brothers owed Zhou Xingchi for 'Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons' in just 15 hours."

Netizens mocked: "Huayi outsourced the money Stephen Chow spent on one movie, but he earned it back in just one day."

Three of the top five trending topics on Weibo are related to "The Mermaid".

#StephenChowSmiled##DengChaoMermaidLove##LiChenWinnedAgain
On Weibo, some netizens also posted photos of a "mermaid cosplay movie-watching group" at Wanda CBD Cinema in Beijing, along with a fan club of Stephen Chow's fans. When the movie ended, they chanted in unison, "Give back Stephen Chow's movie tickets."

Compared to the phenomenal success of "The Mermaid," "The White Bone Demon" fared much worse.

On the first day, parents complained that "Gong Li's appearance frightened their children."
As for Wong Jing's nostalgic God of Gamblers series, it's no longer the era when Hong Kong films were the only dominant force in the 90s.

With a flourishing of diverse films in mainland China, who among those born in the 80s and 90s would still eat poop-flavored chocolate?

The three films released during the Spring Festival generated a lot of buzz, but the hottest topic on the second day of the Lunar New Year was related to Hollywood.

Early this morning, Wu Yifan, who did not appear on the Spring Festival Gala, posted a photo with Vin Diesel, the star of "Fast & Furious 7," on Instagram.

The studio then released a statement.

"Fanfan is officially announced to be joining 'xXx: Return of Xander Cage,' teaming up with Vin Diesel for a global adventure! Go Fanfan!"

Sina Entertainment News

"On the second day of the Lunar New Year, another major piece of news broke in the entertainment industry: Wuyifan Studio officially announced..."

"Wu Yifan has been confirmed to join the Hollywood action blockbuster 'xXx: Return of Xander Cage,' where he will act alongside international stars such as Vin Diesel, Zhang Jin, Samuel L. Jackson, and Tony Jaa. After the news was announced, the topic of Wu Yifan on Weibo quickly garnered over 3 million views."

"Fans collectively shouted, 'The dawn has broken for the Chinese entertainment industry!'"

Whether the entertainment industry in China is still in its early stages or not, Li Chen, the person involved, has no idea.

He only knew that Wu Qian had chosen the wrong time to prick the thorns, that it had to be today.

Leaks of photos showing the cast and crew of "La La Land" dressed up for an Oscar nomination luncheon have been frequently circulated back in China.

Fans and netizens alike were deeply saddened.

It's just a pity that the celestial being became pregnant at the wrong time.

Otherwise, who wouldn't want to see such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, with celebrities vying for attention on the red carpet?

To avoid a bunch of foreigners with wrinkled faces and large pores that are obvious even without close inspection always competing to see who wears less clothing.

Qi Jianhong was secretly pleased with his actions.

Even if it did not cause any real harm to Li Chen.

But on the day of the Oscar nomination luncheon.

Releasing the news that Wu Yifan had broken into Hollywood was like venting his anger over not appearing on the Spring Festival Gala, and it also put Lu Han in a better position.

However, things changed too quickly, so quickly that even the fans of the celestial beauty were caught off guard.

After the nominees' luncheon and group photo, it seemed the day's buzz had come to an end.

Unexpectedly, Li Chen, who was far away on the other side of the ocean, held a joint press conference with DC.

A bombshell news item related to a celestial being completely overshadowed all other trending topics.

The Hollywood Reporter and the Los Angeles Times were the first media outlets to publish articles about the superhero Pendelion.

"DC makes a lightning-fast official announcement! Liu Yifei is confirmed to play China's 'Wonder Woman' Peng Dailan, and her Hollywood halo is instantly overshadowed."

"Just three hours after Unintentional Studios made a high-profile announcement of joining 'xXx: Return of Xander Cage,' DC Films dropped a bombshell after the Oscar nominees luncheon."

"Liu Yifei has been officially confirmed to play DC's first Chinese superhero, Wonder Woman, and the first concept poster has been released."

"DC President Jones revealed that the superhero blockbuster is titled 'Wonder Woman: Green Snake Origin,' with Liu Yifei as the lead actress. In addition, several Chinese actors will be selected to participate in the film."

"The character of Pendril will also be added to the DC superhero 'family tree'!"

The news of Peng Dailan caused an uproar in the industry.

Fan Bingbing had a cameo role in "X-Men," but at least she had a few minutes of screen time and lines.

Huang Shengyi also claimed to have made it into Hollywood, but she didn't have a single line and wasn't even recognized by domestic audiences.

Li Bingbing is quite outstanding; at least in "Resident Evil," she was a supporting actress who was not quite a minor character.

Only Liu Yifei's fans were completely excited.

"Both of them are trying to break into Hollywood, but Liu Yifei got an SSR invitation card, while others only got a trial ticket!"

"xXx: Return of Xander Cage should be renamed xX: The Runner-Up!"

"Leonardo DiCaprio is Leonardo DiCaprio. With Leonardo DiCaprio around, how could Liu Yifei possibly be relegated to a minor role? That doesn't make sense!"

Fan Bingbing was extremely embarrassed, and she even became a trending topic on the second day of the Lunar New Year.

What's trending?
#Li Chen and Fan Bingbing meet parents in Qingdao#Li Chen denies wedding is imminent#
As for Huang Shengyi, the long-absent "Star Girl", she finally "openly" showed off her long-rumored boyfriend Yangzi.

Lu Han's fans flocked to Wuyifan's studio to congratulate Wuyifan.

Although our little deer doesn't have "The Ultimate Runner-Up," she does have "The Great Wall" and "The Demon Slayer" which is about to start filming.
"How could this be so unlucky! How come there wasn't a single word before? What were you doing?!" Qi Jianhong was furious and spat into the phone at Sun Rong, the vice president of Yaolai.

"Mr. Qi, I... I can't really get involved in Hollywood. Yixin hasn't released a single word either. I'm sorry." Sun Rong just wanted to sing "Too Wronged." Not only was he unaware, but the domestic media hadn't heard a word either.

Otherwise, someone would have leaked it long ago.

(End of this chapter)